Bali Trip Throwback1

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ARRIVAL & BARONGAN BREAKFAST

DAY 1: 29/05/2012- 30/05/2012

Bali is one of everyone's favourite place to spend their vacation for obvious reasons; the amazing people and culture, breathtaking views, cheap tourist-friendly attractions, and the list just goes on and on and on. With the recent movie at that time played by Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love potraying this mysthical island, it multiplied your reason not to miss the opportunity to visit this paradise. As we learnt in our first holiday in Bangkok, 3 days is not enough for you to experience the local atmosphere and soaking every moments of your travel time. So, this time we have decided to double up the time to 6 days in Bali and it was a delightful time to roam this majestic place. There are a lot of hotels and hostel choices in Bali according to your preference. As for us, we have booked the hotel earlier before at a somewhat pleasant deal. We stayed at Grand Kuta Hotels and Residences which is known better to the locals as Aston Kuta, its old name. Apparently it was under the Aston Hotel Group before and you can see the hotel accessories such as tissue and toiletries with the name dashed out or covered with marker ink. It was a bit far from major attractions but it was a good deal and we have booked some local tourist guide (which is really cheap!) so, transport is not the issue.

     

So the next morning we start the day with a Barongan dance at one of the local dance schools. The stage itself was impressive; with the iconic Balinese gateway as the background and full traditional orchestra team at one corner under a Balinese hut. The show goes on for about an hour telling local folklore thru dance with the infuse of Hindu mythologies accompanied with impressive costumes. Even though we didn't get the full understanding of the whole story but the performance itself kept me mesmerized. My friends however were not so keen of the scary masks which I thought was really artistic, Next we embarked on our next stop which is the famous rice paddy terrace at one of the foothills in Bali. On our way there, we stopped by a local Art Gallery where the local artists sell their beautiful paintings but the price tag were quite expensive for my pocket. As we continued our journey to the paddy terrace, the scenery along the way was beautiful as well; the traditional local buildings, the small roads, hindu and buddha sculptures along the road and we even stumbled upon a local wedding ceremony march as well.

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When we reached the paddy terrace, it was already almost lunchtime. Our driver parked the car at the side of a small road heading to an uphill location. After spending sometime at the paddy terrace and savoring the view. we decided to head to the next location, restaurant to get some food! After a few kilometres drive, we arrived at a restaurant on the hill overlooking a breathtaking valley which i didn't remember the name. Even though the food were not that great, but the splendid view was enough to substitute the flavours. After we had finished our meal, we head to our car as some local aunties start to gather around us and tourists selling some so-called touristy items. That is normal as this is a third world country and they'd do anything to survive. However, their faces seem to be sort of similar like red indians because they had red-ish skin, high nose (red-indian like nose) and most probably the way they dressed up as well or maybe it was just something wrong with my eyes.

The next location is the Luwak Coffee plantation and factory along the way back to Kuta. For anyone who never heard of luwak coffee, Luwak is a type of civet. Why would someone call a coffee based on a civet? Go figure! The front part of the plantation were a small botanical/ herb garden with some local plants to display an introductory crash course to the tourist. Nothing new for someone from the neighboring country. Deeper in the compound was a small hut which obviously just for showing the process of producing the famous expensive luwak coffee from A to Z. Around the hut they had some luwak taking sleep in the broad daylight. A few steps downhill, we arrived at a nice small cafe where they gave some samples of coffee choices with a tea and a chocolate tester as well. This venue also was overlooking a nice valley (not as beautiful as the first one) full of bamboo plant and coffee trees below its canopy.

We end up getting some luwak coffee from the store as gifts which I end up drinking them myself few months later because most people around me don't drink coffee. Next destination is the Tirtha Empul Temple, one of the iconic temple in Bali known for its beauty and history. The president of Indonesia, Soekarno even had a palace at the side of this temple which is located at a higher ground. Before entering the complex, everyone must cover their legs with sarong and sleeveless shirts are usually not allowed. So, I had a sarong i bought earlier from one of the shops at the paddy terrace (I found out it was priced higher somewhere else!) while everyone else wore purple sarongs from the temple entrance. The temple started with an open area which leads towards a gateway, typical of Balinese premises. In the temple compound, there were a few hut-like structures with one of them was used as a religious ceremonial hall. Through the other exit out of the temple were some pools, some as landscaping feature and one for religious bath, meant to cleanse the sins of its devout followers.

After a few walks around the complex exploring the parks around Tirtha Empul, we found ourselves strolling around the local hawker market selling some tourist items and gifts. We decided that we should head back to the hotel and get some good rest after the light shopping session before exploring more of Bali at night!

EUROPE COMPANY TRIP: DAY 1-21/12/2013

The early morning alarm woke me up as I set it at 6 am and my stuffs are not yet fully packed for my Europe company trip. I finished my packing as I finished my shower, reminding of the important things I need to bring along for the free trip. What can I say beggars cannot be choosers, when my bosses say that we are going to Europe this year I single minded-ly say I’d love to join. So, as I completed my luggage, reminding once more and checking through one more round, a friend of mine call me up telling me they are downstairs to give me a lift to the airport. As I dashed off to the lift, my mind keeps on rewinding the memories I had in Europe a few years earlier, thinking how nice the experience was with my fellow university friends as we planned together everything for the trip from hostel bookings to Disneyland tickets. But none of that is involved in this trip because it’s a tour agency trip. Not much adventure but fewer headaches. So, we reached the airport at around seven, 2 hours before our flight. Yes friend, 2 hours at least for check in for international flights so make sure you are at least 2 hours before your departure time! As we reached the airport, the tour agent arranges everything from there. As usual, when you reach the airport this early find a seat at some restaurant and get a cup of coffee. When the time to board the flight everyone got to their seats, chat for a while and doze off for the next 1 hour plus, but not me. I’ll watch some inflight documentaries and movies until I got bored and dozed off 2 hours before landing.

We landed at Suvarnabumi (as they call in Thai, swarnaphum) airport at circa 10.30am. This is our transit city, Bangkok Thailand. We immediately transfer to our hotel for the day here at Centara Hotel Bangkok as our flight to Italy will be at 1 am. As we reach our hotel, everyone got their rooms and we head to our hotel as soon as we checked in. At 10 or so, we went out to walk around Bangkok for some sightseeing and perhaps shopping. Just few days before our stop in Bangkok, the political situation was in a hoax where demonstrators were on the streets protesting but lucky for us none were seen in the street as during that time, the date for election was just announced and the king just mentioned that there shall be no havoc on the street few days before we came (little that we know few weeks later the condition got worse). Anyway, we went to central world for a intro walk which is very near to our hotel. Not really what I want to see in Bangkok because it’s just another shopping mall. But, I just follow along as I have been in Bangkok before. Then,  we head off to platinum mall by taxi where the so-called one of Bangkok’s shopping heaven. For me however, im not really keen on shopping here as the items weren’t the kind of things I would buy. I mean most of it are for the ladies so, ladies next time you come to Bangkok Platinum is one of the place for you. I’d prefer Chatuchak market as the things there are more suiting for me to purchase. After few rounds of repeating ladies shops, we decided to go back to our hotel for some refreshment.

The hotel package comes with buffet lunch and dinner and the food is awesome. All range of food from sushi to pastas, selection of food here is very impressive and most importantly its delicioso! After our dinner, it’s time to take some rest and shower before we make the move to the airport. The journey to airport is around an hour and at least 2 hours before check in therefore we departed from the hotel at 9 pm. The same as any other major airport, Suvarnabhumi airport is huge so, as we finish checking in to the flight and send our luggage everyone spread out in groups to explore the airport before our boarding time which is at 12 am.

2010 resolutions fulfilled??

As usual, last year's resolution is always something that u will be ashamed of, not because of the content is embarrassing, but because you just failed to achieve most of it. Mine?

1- getting fit. i'm not fat. just a belly problem but that will be taken care of. i'll take a gym membership and eat healthily for the physical thing and also health.

2- get employed. getting employed is not really hard in my profession. i might also think of getting active doing part time job too so i can get extra income. also will join competitions like comics thingy or logo design etc. (won't involve in architectural competition because too much fuss)

3- save money. i spent too much on food. i am not that fussy about food but i have the tendency to eat 'luxury foods' especially if i have friends around. i don't spent too much on appearance just because i don't think thats a necesity for the time being. but if i have my own money, i might be carelessly buy new things but just leave that to 'future-eusof' to handle.

4- appearance upgrade. i dress up lazily. i think. its just an ok level i guess. this year i'm planning to give a wardrobe makeover to stuff it with new clothes. that is after i get employed. maybe get some consultation of how to look more presentable infront of people from some 'experts'.

5- improve social and life-survival skills. as a start, moving to penang seems to be a good move since my sister lives there. therefore, i can learn how to adjust in a totally different environment and at the same time still have a support system (that is my sis). planning to move to KL but maybe in 2 years (or more) time when i'm fully ready. oh.. and smile more. some of my friends told me that i looked a little cold especially to people i just met.

6- gain working experience. i'm ready for work. i'm even psyched now actually.. maybe more like challenged. ignore those negative inner self telling myself that i'm not good enough.

7- prove to mum and dad that i can be independent. planning to give some money to parents when i started working. staying in kuching will make me even more spoilt. mum tries to lure me to work there by offering a 'vios' or 'city' but i declined the offer, instead taking the risk of venturing elsewhere but kuching.

8- be a better friend. i used to feel that my hands are tied, unable to comment freely to facebook accounts since i had a girlfriend but now that i'm free, i want to get out there and catch up with old friends and possibly make new friends. now, i should have a book on "becoming a good friend for dummies".not planning to be in a relationship for the time being.*singing all the single lads*

9- backpackaking!!!!! my ultimate resolution. i missed backpacking throughout europe. all those bittersweet memories are just awesome. where should we go next??... korea? japan? australia? morocco? china? US? germany?... anyone wanna join?

10- less listening, more talking. i'm seriously getting bored of being a good listener. its a good thing for a good-talker-friend to have a good-listener-friend but its really tiring sometimes because my own perspectives and emotions are thrown at the corner without anyone noticing it. even if they notice it, they will just pretend to hear you and seconds later, they most probably will continue to tell their story, ignoring yours.

Okay, to start with.. I still have this belly. but the bright side is, i got 5 out of 10 done, number 2,4,5,6 and 7. got employed. improved appearance. improved social skills and life-survival skills. gained working experience (even though very slow). prove to mum and dad that i can be independent. I'm still working on number 1, 3, 8 and 9. went to gym (diligently). been an okay friend, i guess. planning on a short trip to Bangkok in June!! (can't wait!).

And last but not least, less listening and more talking. seems to not going to happen anytime soon, i mean like soon as in forever. huh! maybe its just my personality, or maybe time will tell. people change.

Japan Tsunami 11/03/2011

satellite photographs show the Iwanuma-Matsushima area before (L) and after the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 12, 2011 at Torinoumi, Japan.






Its like an epic catastrophe hitting the country of the rising sun where the word itself came from, Tsunami. The world was shocked as billions of us watched the videos of parts of Japan crushed by the giant waves. It brings along whatever on its way, from wooden planks to boats passing through farms and towns. Just watching these videos alone make us feel, helpless and sad even so, worse for the victims and eye witness of the disaster. This is the worst Tsunami ever to hit Japan and the effects of the event is so tragic. Yes, Japan is well prepared with their up-to-date disaster alarms and all, they even got the first footage of the Tsunami event on tape and the world see it live. But the aftermath is nevertheless, resentful.


Finding their way through Sendai along with other 1 million other in search of petrol, water and food


A guy cries learning the death of his friend at an evacuation shelter at Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture

Futaba Kosei Hospital patients are treated at Fukushima Gender Equality Centre in Nihonmatsu after being evacuated from the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in Futaba town.


The images we've seen in the media mostly showing the physical destruction of the place whereas, the emotions of the people is almost failed to be fully understood by the rest of the world, specifically Malaysia. Some even make jokes out of it as if its just one of the Hollywood or Korean movies of such mere Armageddon events. But when tsunami hit the shores of Penang in 2004, none of us created such jokes right? why? So, put ourselves in their shoes, then we can understand better. =)

p/s: just my thoughts on things. peace!

i'm flying again...

i arrived at the airport today with one backpack, a oversized bag as if it was full of stones and my laptop. i am early this time, hoping to surf the free wifi. immediately went to the baggage scanning machine and then checking that everything is okay. no overweight incident this time. i planned things carefully. as i was transferring some shirts and toiletries into my brown blown up bag, a chinese uncle approached me.

uncle: &8*$%#^& (chinese words)
me: dui bu qi, wo bu hui jiang hua
uncle: hua wen? kwantong? hokkien?
me: wo bu hui jiang hua. wo shi malai ren.
uncle: ooo.. kenapa u keluar-keluar barang itu?
me: saya nak bagi berat dia cukup2
uncle: o.. dia tidak cek ka nanti? u dah scan tadi ma...
me: tidak apa la uncle. sama saja nanti dia scan semua benda lagi masa masuk.
uncle: ya ka?
me: ya la uncle.
uncle: bolehka bawak brg2 banyak ini?
me: boleh.
uncle: o.. eh, sekarang byk org pandai ckp cina ho..
me: ya la.. my mum is chinese
uncle: oo.. u myanmar ha?

i was dumb-founded, don't know what to respond.

me: bukan, bukan... my mum.
uncle: o.. myanmar!

cis. uncle ni mmg mencabar iman aku ni

uncle: u mau pergi mana?
me: penang.
uncle: jumpa sapa?
me: kakak. mau keja sana.

ekspresi muka uncle tu cam ckp: hmmm.. habis la negeri aku byk org myanmar, rimas. disebabkan tak puas hati aku cuba nak terangkan jugak aku bukan orang myanmar spt dia phm. saya dari sarawak.

uncle: o...

last2 baru dia buat muka paham. sedangkan sblm ni konfius je.. adoi, uncle.

new year's resolution

i used to love new year especially during my secondary school days.. shouting "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" from my room to join the new year's eve psych throughout the whole boarding school. Little that i know that i will someday feel uneasy with new year in the future where 'past-eusof' was having blast thinking of what the new year will bring to his exciting days of youth especially the last years of his secondary school days when everyone was pumped-up to go to university. but that was then. now, the future eusof is literally getting miserable.. tired and insecured of his belly getting more fast forward than his life-survival skill. but the problem just wasn't giving up just on that, there's a whole list of things that needed to be tackled. nowadays, we're getting worried that our scalps getting thinner, eyebags getting bigger, relatives and friends asking when are you getting married etc, etc,.. but come one, lets just not waste our twenties.. therefore, this new year resolution might just be a good way to boost those self esteem back on track.. so, here's what i need to achieve this year, 2010!

1- getting fit. i'm not fat. just a belly problem but that will be taken care of. i'll take a gym membership and eat healthily for the physical thing and also health.

2- get employed. getting employed is not really hard in my profession. i might also think of getting active doing part time job too so i can get extra income. also will join competitions like comics thingy or logo design etc. (won't involve in architectural competition because too much fuss)

3- save money. i spent too much on food. i am not that fussy about food but i have the tendency to eat 'luxury foods' especially if i have friends around. i don't spent too much on appearance just because i don't think thats a necesity for the time being. but if i have my own money, i might be carelessly buy new things but just leave that to 'future-eusof' to handle.

4- appearance upgrade. i dress up lazily. i think. its just an ok level i guess. this year i'm planning to give a wardrobe makeover to stuff it with new clothes. that is after i get employed. maybe get some consultation of how to look more presentable infront of people from some 'experts'.

5- improve social and life-survival skills. as a start, moving to penang seems to be a good move since my sister lives there. therefore, i can learn how to adjust in a totally different environment and at the same time still have a support system (that is my sis). planning to move to KL but maybe in 2 years (or more) time when i'm fully ready. oh.. and smile more. some of my friends told me that i looked a little cold especially to people i just met.

6- gain working experience. i'm ready for work. i'm even psyched now actually.. maybe more like challenged. ignore those negative inner self telling myself that i'm not good enough.

7- prove to mum and dad that i can be independent. planning to give some money to parents when i started working. staying in kuching will make me even more spoilt. mum tries to lure me to work there by offering a 'vios' or 'city' but i declined the offer, instead taking the risk of venturing elsewhere but kuching.

8- be a better friend. i used to feel that my hands are tied, unable to comment freely to facebook accounts since i had a girlfriend but now that i'm free, i want to get out there and catch up with old friends and possibly make new friends. now, i should have a book on "becoming a good friend for dummies".not planning to be in a relationship for the time being.*singing all the single lads*

9- backpackaking!!!!! my ultimate resolution. i missed backpacking throughout europe. all those bittersweet memories are just awesome. where should we go next??... korea? japan? australia? morocco? china? US? germany?... anyone wanna join?

10- less listening, more talking. i'm seriously getting bored of being a good listener. its a good thing for a good-talker-friend to have a good-listener-friend but its really tiring sometimes because my own perspectives and emotions are thrown at the corner without anyone noticing it. even if they notice it, they will just pretend to hear you and seconds later, they most probably will continue to tell their story, ignoring yours.

that's probably enough for now.. alright. get ready! here i come.. *doing warming up ritual*

my best friend is now my foe

everyone have close friend or may i assume it is just that way even some people don't have any. anyway, i have this very close friend of mine who i knew since i was in my school days. back then we weren't that close. but as time goes by, we seem to click because the chemistry between us is so undeniable. i find comfort in his acquaintance. lately, i feel that he's getting sneakier to bring me down as far as he can, affecting my studies and life.. turning me into someone else who i really hate and feel disgusted of. if you're really thinking that i'm talking about a person.. well, i'm not. i'm actually talking about my enemy, 'procrastination'. ya.. cheesy right. i find it really troublesome for me to have this tendency to procrastinate everything in my life. i find it comforting but at the same time i know that i will regret it in the end of the day. you know that if you are confronted with a problem.. you might think to solve it quickly or to leave it alone until the condition is right or you might just leave it until it just cool off by itself? answer number 2 and 3 is procrastination. thats what i usually might do. this really have to stop since everything is falling out of place now. i started to feel like its just too late sometimes, that this is just me but part of me think that i still can change this obnoxious habit. where should i start?....

thinking about the past

i have a long term memory lost. seriously.. i have some memories in my childhood that i can't remember at all. but some that i still remember, clearly. a recent invitation to my elementary school reunion makes me realised that it was quite serious. i can't really recall most of the ex-students but for some reason, there's this sorta clue about a certain person.. but still i there's so many thing i can't remember. i can only recall like 30% of my classmates and the rest, vanished into thin air. i was not-so introverted person that i am right now. i was a outspoken kid who very loud and ready to pick up a fight at anytime. but not that i'm the school bully, i just "mouth" fight with everyone until i was half way through my secondary school years. thats when i started to shut up and listen and until today, i am relearning to open my mouth back.

some memories are still clear and vivid.. like when i 'main nama bapak orang' and found out by my teacher, i ran away out of the class when it was in session. i was in primary 6. what was i thinking?? huh.. at that time it might seem so funny and fun but thinking back about it, that was quite dumb. but i was just a kid. at the end i went back to the class and the teacher pulled my ears. there was also this one time, at a school spelling contest, i remembered that i spelled one word wrong.. i spelled it 'langauge' instead of 'language'. i immidiately realise that i made that mistake once i got out of the hall. huh. but non the less, my elementary school days ended so well. while more than half the class went to mrsm due to good grads to go for an excellence camp, i and the rest of the class attend 'ordinary' kelas tambahan for UPSR. it wasn't fun. at that time i really wanted to join that camp so bad. but being an under dog, everyone underestimated me, even my parents.. they say i'm not as genius as my other siblings. but i got straight As for my 1st big exam. even my class teacher was so shocked that i got it.

p/s: even how genius you are, you wont make it anywhere with a bad attitude.

^^^cocky one but whatever!! haha... i just need to write something.

i was thinking to shake a little bit this blog.. i will post cartoons in the future. that will spice things up a bit.

datuk lat at utm

my first day in utm was a mess.. finding a place to stay since i stayed outside last semester. this time i'll stay inside the campus. just for 2-3 weeks that is. later, then that i'll be spending my time in my beloved hometown, kuching. so far thats the plan. for long term, i was thinking to moved out of kuching after 2-3 years working there. hmm.. probably end of 2012. if nothing really happen then, i'll probably be going to sydney to find job opportunity. haha. yes, i partly believe there's something is going to happen anytime soon. its either doomsday or just series of natural disaster like volcanic eruption. either way, its not going to be very nice. many will die. i'm not planning to go to america since they have yellowstone national park there where its most likely to erupt in the near future. ok enough with 2012 movie.. besides, the ending suck.

back to the topic.. mm.. ya.. the first day.. so, when i went to the admin office to ask about my hostel, i saw datuk lat. typical me.. i'll just sit there and observed him. i didn't say hi to him. just a few months back a just read a bunch of his cartoon novels which we scavenge from studio. note scavenge means keeping other people's unwanted properties. those are comics left behind by our juniors in studios upstairs at the end of semester. but i have been reading his comics since small and i find it really amusing. he was in utm for karyawan jemputan or something. he looks so calm and relaxed. no formal suit or anything, just a hawaii shirt and slacks and of course shoes. everyone of the staffs are like busy kissing ass smiling from ear to ear, greeting the famous cartoonist when before he came, everyone was like so stiff and cold. typical of malaysians, like to kiss ass which i'll probably will have to do too..

i might want to look into comics for my side-carrier in the future. because this is what i'm destined to do.. lat is such an inspiration.. hopefully i can be as successful as him in the future, if not better!

repeat again..

repeat again.. yeah2.. the 'repeat' word will be a taboo word for me for the next 200 years. this is the second time i will be repeating my final year of architecture degree. the most depressed person would be me.. not my parents or my girlfriend or my lecturers but of course its me. why? because i will have to worry about my own studies and then worry about what my parents, friends and lecturers would think about me. repeat students would literally translate into 'losers'. yeah "L" letter for me.. hey, being loser isn't a bad thing i guess. well, most part it is but i just knew that albert einstein and adolf hitler was loser before they were to be icon of humankind. hmmpphh.. so much for the inspiration.

now, i'm at this lame psz library in the computer where the internet is sucky as hell. i can't even open google.. a while ago i can but now it seems to be blocked. i can only open blogger, yahoo and of course UTM's websites. looking around PSZ, not much differences at the book storage area but this computer area sure is different. i mean just the computers.. flat screens and the cpu is small compared to the normal 'clone' computers which is a good thing. i don't really know what i'm talking about so, i'll just write whatever that crosses my mind. someone just farted next to me. it doesn't sound loud but enough to be noticed in 5 meter radius. haha.. he sits back down. pretending he didn't fart. my guess is that he will walked out after this.


yup.. he did.